Ma
gic ,M ira cle s
and the
e Mystical Twelv LAKSHMI DEVNATH
The Story of Periaazhvaar
t was Poorva who resumed the conversation. “It seems to be a long walk to Srivilliputhur. Do you think you could tell me a story?” “Of course,” said the Swami. “A very long time ago, there was a place called Varaaha Kshethram. Kshethram is a Sanskrit word that means ‘place’ and Varaaha means ‘boar’. It is believed that Lord Vishnu, taking the form of a boar, had rested in this place for some time along with Goddess Mahalakshmi. And that is how this place got its name. In this place was a forest called Shenbaga Aranyam. Shenbaga, or champaka in Sanskrit, is a kind of flower, and aranyam means ‘forest’. In the forest lived two brothers, Villi and Kandan. They were expert hunters. Once, the younger brother, Kandan, saw a tiger and went after it. When Kandan did not return, Villi got worried and went looking for him. The search was unsuccessful, and Villi, exhausted, fell asleep under a tree. In his dream, Lord Vishnu appeared and gently informed him that Kandan had fallen prey to the tiger. The Lord added that, long ago, He had come to Shenbaga Aranyam to destroy a demon called Kaalanemi, and if Villi dug below the very tree under which he was resting, he would find a vigraham of Himself in a reclining form. Vishnu further directed Villi to build a temple and install the deity in it. When Villi woke up, he eagerly set about implementing the Lord’s commands. As days went by, in place of the forest arose a puthur, a new city. There he built a huge temple. And since this place was constructed by Villi …” “It came to be called Srivilliputhur!” Poorva completed the sentence. “Swami Thaatha, all this time I never realized that you were telling me the story of Srivilliputhur. You’re really amazing.” The author is a researcher and writer with various books and articles on Indian music and culture to her credit. lakshmidevnath@gmail.com Illustrator: Smt. Lalithaa Thyagarajan. lalithyagu@gmail.com
June 2021
I
(Continued from the previous issue. . .)
31 The Vedanta Kesari
PA G E D O N O R : S R I S R I N I VA S A R A M A N G O V I N D A R A J A N , C H E N N A I
Roles Reversed
